Corrosion
by NyxBlade
Summary: One-shot. Is Mana truly gone?


**_A/n: Guess who isn't dead! I lost inspiration for that one story of mine, but I promise I'll finish it. Eventually._** ** _Thanks to all who've favorited, commented, and followed my other stories; it means the world to me._**

 ** _This is just a little D. Gray Man plot bunny that wouldn't die and demanded to be wrote. It's based on Volume 25, so if you haven't gotten that far, it'll contain spoilers. Read at your own risk. Please enjoy._**

 ** _Disclaimer: if I owned D. Gray Man, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it._**

I smiled, all sharp edges. I couldn't help it.

After all, Mana was finally dead. That horrible man. That _plague_ upon me. That harbinger of betrayal that turned the fourteenth against him, that stood in the way of the Millennium Earl, that fool that _ruined everything._

Mana was finally dead.

And what a pitiful way to go. Ran over by a rushing carriage like common roadkill. Ha! Served him right, I would think. That bothersome Mana. That weak, pitiful Mana who could do nothing but cry over the body of his dead brother. Mana was finally gone.

I heard Mana had a son, some poor pitiful soul who would be _dying_ for my kind of help right now. It would be hilarious to have _that man_ serve under me in my akuma army. It'd be recompensation for all the pain and misery _that man_ put me through. Almost.

Nothing could replace the fourteenth. Nothing could replace Neah. But I would never say that to the other Noah. Wouldn't want my dear family to think I had favorites, after all.

I don't know why when I think of family nowadays I think of a little redheaded boy with a covered arm who is all fire and snark and gives me a warm feeling in what most people would call their heart. I don't want to know why. I push it to the back of my head along with the other useless memories of another life before the Millennium Earl with wheat fields, a bare tree, golden sunsets, and a beautiful, kind woman named Caterina.

What was I thinking about again?

Ah right, Mana's son. His name was Allen, wasn't it? Allen Walker. Mana named him after his dog who was killed by a jealous clown.

Why do I know this?

He'd be at the grave still, silently weeping over a stone slab that would be the only thing left of Mana Campbell after this night. The boy would cry and curse God, and I would be a ray of hope offering him another chance to be with his recently departed father. He'd be filled with adoration and thankfulness that someone other than Mana did a kindness for him before his father acts on his newly formed instincts and murders his own son. It'll be perfect, cruelly ironic that the man who devastated my family will be forced to ruin his own.

I don't know why this fills me with anything other than glee. I don't know why I feel like a horrible monster. I don't know why I feel guilt. The Millennium Earl does not need guilt over the fate of the spawn of that _interloper_ Mana. The Millennium Earl should not feel such things.

I approach the boy, my smiling facade fused to my face. I start giving the boy my speech, my sales pitch as Tyki-pon would probably call it when he thought I wasn't in earshot. It was just the same as all the other deals I've made with miserable and desperate people, Mana's son or not, and I don't know why it feels so wrong doing this to this boy when I've done the same thing to so many others. The boy does as he's told, being so remarkably obedient for once in his life; Mana's death must have changed him.

Wait. Why would I know how Allen acts? I've never met the boy before. How odd.

I watch my new akuma be given life, and I am... not pleased. I feel regretful and terrible, and I don't know why. I feel something ache in my chest. My head hurts; I don't remember the last time I had a headache; The Millennium Earl does not get such a mundane affliction like a headache.

 _How could you? My son! You're killing our son! You killed our brother now our son!? You're a monster! A demon!_ A ghost screams. But that's impossible because Mana is gone. I got rid of him all those years ago. I erased him.

Didn't I? Or am I forgetting something?

Wait. Didn't Mana get ran over? Yes, yes. I prohibited Mana from talking with Neah and the other Noah. He turned Neah against me, and then Neah slaughtered most of my family. And then I killed the traitor, and Mana... What did I do to Mana again?

It doesn't matter anymore. Mana is dead. His son is a loose end. Without Allen, Mana will be forgotten.

Oh, the boy lived. His arm is made of innocence. How peculiar. Count on Mana to be full of surprises, even beyond the grave. I should put the boy out of his misery; the Black Order will surely manipulate the poor boy into fighting their futile Holy War. Better a quick death now than a lifetime of suffering.

Why do I hesitate? Why do I not want to kill him? He's just a human, child or not. I have killed countless humans, so why is this one an exception?

Ah, I sense Cross nearby. So those exorcist vultures are already circling around this poor little lamb. Dealing with Cross would be bothersome. I should probably go while the getting's good.

It has nothing to do with a crippled, withered part of me banished to the back of my mind that looks upon Cross and calls him "friend." The Millennium Earl does not make friends with humans.

I do not know why I linger at the scene to see if Allen is alright. I don't know why I care. I don't know why I'm so happy to see Cross carry the boy away to force into an apprenticeship. I don't know why I worry for the boy because Marian Cross is _not_ meant to raise children. He's too unused to dealing with his own emotions after Maria died. I don't know how I know that.

I should get back to my family. I have a war to plan, an army to lead. I have to fulfill my duty as the Millennium Earl.

I don't have time to deal with Mana. I must think about the future, about our mission to punish the humans for their sins. I can't think about Neah, about crying over his corpse, about how _I did this to him._ I can't think about crushing guilt, about lashing out, of how the pain of having my face blown off was _nothing_ compared to the pain of losing Neah.

Mana was weak. The Millennium Earl cannot be weak.

What was I thinking about again? I feel as though I forgot something important. Oh well, if it's that important, it'll come back to me eventually. Best get back to my children again. They'll worry and wonder about where I've been.

Maybe I'll pick up some new yarn for my knitting. Maybe I'll get some treats for Road and Skinn. Maybe something for Tyki-pon too, so he doesn't think I've forgotten about him. Maybe a new deck of cards. I don't think Sheryl wants anything. Lulubell just got another cat toy. Jasdevi doesn't get anything; they've been misbehaving recently, but when are they not? As for the rest of my family, they haven't come back yet, blast that fourteenth. And for Allen, I'll get him some food from that place on 5th Avenue he seemed to like so much.

Who? There aren't any Noahs named Allen.

Ah, that's probably one of Tyki-pon's human friends I hear him talking about time to time. You'd think that boy would learn that humans don't make good friends. Just look at Neah and Mana's friendship. Look where it got the both of them. Dead. And Tyki looks so much like...

Why do I feel sad? Why do I feel like I'm missing something? Why do I still feel like this? Like a human? The Millennium Earl should not feel like a human.

Why am I wasting time in this town? I have exorcists to kill.

I start humming a cheery little tune as I stroll along the polluted streets. Something that reminds me of the circus. I can't remember when I heard it. It mustn't have been a memorable place.


End file.
